Blog-ah

Post Trees Going "Timber"

By Rachel Young
Fort Lewis

For the safety of Fort Lewis aviators, several hundred trees will be removed from the post’s cantonment area during June.

The trees must be removed so that Gray Army Airfield approaches will comply with Federal Aviation Administration regulations. Currently, there are trees extending as much as 98 feet into the approach and departure clearance surfaces of the airfield.

The FAA has given the airfield 12-18 months to remove the penetrating trees in the airfield’s approach, or it will be decertified. “(The removal) is done for safety,” said Allan Derrickson, Fort Lewis installation forester. “Nobody wants to do this.”

Most of the trees will be removed from the visible and high trafficked areas of post because of Gray Army Airfield’s unique location. This will include trees around the PX and the Parkway housing area.

To comply with FAA regulations, the airfield’s approach and landing surfaces must have an obstacle free plane with a slope of 50:1, meaning for every 50 horizontal feet of approach, there must be one vertical foot in which there are no obstacles. For Gray Army Airfield, this means an area 9,000 feet wide, extending 25,200 horizontal feet from the airfield, and 500 vertical feet above the airfield. Any obstacles must fall 10 feet below this 50:1 slope.

Because of the penetrating trees, the airfield is already operating under limited conditions, said Robert Rodriguez, aviation division chief and commander of Gray Army Airfield. The airfield can only use its Precision Approach Radar in weather conditions in which there is a minimum 400-foot cloud cover and visibility no less than one mile, according to John Graf, air traffic control chief and air traffic and airspace officer for Gray Army Airfield.

If there were no limitations, the airfield would be able to use PAR with a 200-foot cloud ceiling and three quarters of a mile visibility. The approach to one runway is not available at all at night, Graf said.

“Our Instrument Landing System weather minimums went from a 300-foot cloud ceiling to 400 feet,” Graf said. “Circling to land to Runway 33 is not authorized at night on this approach either.”

By the end of June, enough trees must be removed from the approach to create a slope of 34:1 for Gray Army Airfield to regain its usual weather and visibility minimums.

To meet this deadline, a contractor will begin removing trees around the beginning of June, Derrickson said. Most of the trees scheduled for removal are Douglas fir, a tree that is invasive to Fort Lewis’ natural prairie ecosystem.

The trees will be sold and 40 percent of the net profit will go to local counties for roads and schools, Derrickson said. The rest will be put in the Army Reimbursable Forestry Account, which will help Army posts everywhere.

“That money is used nationwide to fund forestry operations on Army posts,” Derrickson said.

Once the trees are removed, landscaping engineers will come and create a landscaping plan.

“We have to figure out how to replace the trees that are coming out with something else that doesn’t grow so tall and will be suitable for the environment,” Derrickson said. “That’s where we need an expert to come in and help us.”

Rainier Inn Ready To Open

By Don Kramer
Fort Lewis

The Rainier Inn passed final inspections last week, paving the way for a soft opening in early July of the building that represents a major addition to the Fort Lewis Lodge.

The new building, located behind the post headquarters on Pendleton Street, will add 185 rooms to the 155 already on post. Fort Lewis lodging general manager Cindy Moinette accepted the keys after the inspection, officially marking the turnover of control of the building and beginning the final phase of preparations for accepting guests.

The Rainier Inn broke ground in 2004 and finished a year behind schedule, but Moinette said the facility is worth the wait.

“I take a lot of pride in this,” said Moinette. “Our Soldiers deserve the best and they should have it. Why not? There’s no reason we shouldn’t be the best hotel in the area — for them.”

Crews began hanging drapes Tuesday, and furniture will start outfitting rooms next Monday. As rooms are furnished in sequence, housekeeping staff will follow directly behind, making beds, hanging towels and stocking shelves with dishes and silverware.

Seventy-five 450-square foot family suites include a living area adjacent to the bedroom and refrigerators in their kitchenettes, but the 110 smaller extended-stay rooms are nearly as well appointed.

All rooms include microwave ovens, a glass-top stove, Corian counters, pots and pans as well as flat screen televisions with 50 satellite channels with HBO, DVD players, Wi-Fi and high-speed Internet connections. Digital thermostats control temperatures in the energy-efficient rooms set to post standards. Sensors monitor body heat, automatically turning down the room heat when lodgers depart. Likewise, housekeeping staff can press a button outside the room to sense whether anyone remains inside. The rooms are full of thoughtful touches, from bookshelves to night lights, extra linens, hide-away tables and ceiling fans throughout.

The breakfast bar occupies the southeast corner of the building, where guests will serve themselves continental breakfasts behind a dramatic, two-story lobby with fireplace. The building also features a business center with computers, laundry rooms on the second and fourth floors and a conference room available for reservations.

Moinette calls the interior’s colors “northwestern warm,” a blend of muted earth tones designed to welcome guests while evoking the region. Despite the amenities and appointments, room rates have remained low.

“(Soldiers) should have the best at a reasonable rate,” Moinette said. “The suites go for $60 a night and the other rooms go for $55, and that includes continental breakfast. Our rates are driven by per diem and expenses. We’re not here to make a profit, and that helps Soldiers a lot. It’s a great rate for this type of room.” The new lodge grew out of the Army Wellness Plan in 2000. Then current facilities and troop population projections combined to identify Fort Lewis as one of the posts in most need of a new lodge. “We had to do a very extensive package,” said Moinette. “Bids went out. Swinerton Builders out of Bellevue won the bid.”

In addition to the lodge, Moinette oversees 716 “non-standard” bed spaces on North Fort, 189 at Yakima Training Center and 43 rooms in use at Madigan Army Medical Center by medical-hold patients, 1,353 bed spaces in all.

No date has been set for the official grand opening of the Rainier Inn.

Veteran Event

Free SKOOT June 5 For Military Families

Topia Technology, based near Ft. Lewis, Washington, is helping families stay
connected during the spring surge with Operation TroopSkoot. The company is
giving away FREE SKOOT service to soldiers and their families on Tuesday,
June 5 at the Sheraton Tacoma from 10 a.m. to noon. SKOOT will allow you
transfer and share huge media files on your personal computer without using
email or violating DOD regulations on Internet use. Please join Janine
Terrano, CEO of Topia Technology, (ret.) Major General Gene Daniel, and
other area families and friends to get your FREE USB drive loaded with
SKOOT.

"With recent policy changes limiting communications over the Internet, SKOOT
will enable soldiers and their families to send and receive unbelievably
large files of pictures, video, data, anything! We are very excited to
partner to launch of Operation TroopSkoot and the delivery of SKOOT to our
military families," says Terrano.

Come hear how families are using SKOOT to share photos, videos and music and
participate in TroopSkoot Boot Camp to see how easy it is! Better yet,
bring your stories, photos and videos that show how you are staying
connected with your loved ones during the war. Families and children
welcome. For more information, visit
http://www.troopskoot.com/"www.troopskoot.com. For more information about
the event, call Jon Rossman at 253.572.9712.

For those of you unable to attend or who would like to forward this to a
soldier or family member, Support America's Armed ForcesTM will be linking
information about Operation TroopSkoot from
www.supportamericasarmedforces.com

1-14th CAV Troops On Point

PHOTOS FOLLOW BELOW

By Spc. Alexis Harrison
2nd BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs

BAGHDAD – The troops from Task Force 1-14 Cavalry (1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment) operating in the Iraqi capital as part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, have had to go through many changes.

They moved from Forward Operating Base Falcon to FOB Union III after the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division showed up a few months ago from Fort Riley, Kan.

The squadron of cavalrymen who ride on their fleet-footed Strykers then received the mission to go down south of the capital about 80 miles to Diwaniyah and help take back a community on the brink of peril.

Finally, the boys from Fort Lewis, Wash., got to come back and begin their newest mission: stand up a combat outpost and patrol the volatile streets of Karkh and Haifa Street, near the city’s center.

According to one platoon leader, 1st Lt. Courtney Dean, even though the weather is scalding hot and they have been all over Iraq, things are improving and he said they hope to make the same improvements in Karkh as they did in Diwaniyah and Abu Discher.

Dean and the rest of his 3rd Platoon, Troop C, was out on mission just like any other day, even though the temperature peaked at 110 degrees. Sweat poured off the troops during their reconnaissance of a rail yard and warehouse compound on the north side of Karkh near the Baghdad train station.

"You get used to the heat," said Staff Sgt. Zachary Tooman from Salt Lake City. "There's not much you can do other than drink lots of water."

Dean said that since they are new to the area, they want to get to know what is happening in and around places that could be used to store weapons or hideouts for anti-Iraqi forces.

About one dozen huge warehouses sit near the rail yard. Dean said that the yard used to be one of the main railroad hubs in all of Iraq. Its size still shows of the commerce that once traveled into and out of the capital, but the dust and debris covering the area tells a tale of inactivity.

Inside the warehouses guards kept a watchful eye over stockpiles of items like rice, oil or sugar. As the troops approached the first building, the air drastically changed from the usual smells of the city to a fragrant, flowery smell. The warehouse was filled with laundry detergent.

Dean said that many of the warehouses are owned by the government and are used as distribution centers for supplies needed by the residents of the community. Some of the buildings, however, are privately owned, but hold the same purpose.

Before the Soldiers made their way to the warehouses, they had to make a vital stop at their new combat outpost along the river. They delivered supplies like insect repellant, mosquito netting and ice to their comrades already manning the post.

Tooman said that everyone will have a turn manning the post, and it's best to get it equipped with everything they'll need during the blazing summer months.

Dean said that the new outpost offers them a way to keep a constant, 24-hour presence in the area to keep the quiet that's been won by many battles in months past.

"Having the combat power projected into the area will make the enemy think twice about doing anything," he said.

After several hours of patrolling in the heat, the fatigue was shown by the sweat-soaked uniforms. Although several of the troops remarked about the heat, none of them stopped or slowed down other than to take a drink of water. The troops kept moving forward to accomplish the mission.

Even after being moved all over Iraq, making it through one grueling summer and getting extended, Dean said that the mission is still the most important thing.

Soldiers from Troop C, Task Force 1-14 attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, talk to a guard at a warehouse compound in Baghdad’s Karkh District, May 23. The troops from Fort Lewis, Wash., recently began operations in the Baghdad neighborhood after an operation in Diwaniyah last month.

Salt Lake City native Staff Sgt. Zachary Tooman, a section leader with Troop C, 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, scans the horizon while his fellow troops check out a warehouse in Baghdad’s Karkh District during a patrol, May 23.

Members from Troop C, 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment out of Fort Lewis, Wash., drop off supplies to their comrades setting up a combat outpost in Baghdad’s Karkh District, May 23.

Jonathan Peterson Dies

The Fort Lewis soldier on life support in Nebraska following a one-car rollover accident died Tuesday. Click here for the Journal Star report.

This Week In The Fort Lewis Ranger & NW Veteran

The Fort Lewis Ranger newspaper and The NW Veteran newspaper are on the stands with many stories including the following highlights:

1. Comfort Zone Cafe: A group of veterans have set up shop in DuPont (across I-5) from Fort Lewis to counsel soldiers returning from war.

2. Carla Richards, a local military spouse, is competing to be Mrs. Washington. She is running on a "Support the Troops" platform.

3. MOS Series: Our ongoing look at Army MOSs examines paralegals in uniform.

4. Disability 101: We take a look at how ratings are determined and what every soldier should know in order to transition out of the military with the right NUMBER.

5. Veterans Under 50: They are young and ready to carry the torch into the 21st Century.

6. Helping The Kids: TriWest has designed a program to help parents help their children during deployments.

And so much more...

GI BILL

WHEN IS THE LAST TIME YOU LOOKED OVER YOUR GI BILL BENEFITS? CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED.

Memorial Day Thoughts

The Ranger's own Jessica Corey-Butler attended Memorial Day events this past Monday and filed this opinion piece:

Memorial Day: looking at some numbers
By Jessica Corey Butler

Two headstones, one last name.

“Marshall Ervin Haywood. Sgt US Army. WWII. Oct 31, 1913-May 20 1976.”

“Alan Terry Haywood. Washington. EN 3 US Navy. Vietnam. Aug 13 1945- Dec 9 1973.”

Two small flags, one at half-mast, show the ultimate sacrifice of the younger Haywood. The grounds of the New Tacoma Cemetery are studded with these little flags, and larger flags line the maze of roads through the grounds.

And while these two headstones bear witness to the service and sacrifice of a time past, the continuing, mounting toll of this war shows that the national holiday of appreciating the ultimate sacrifice of those who’ve served our country may see a younger crowd making its way to the cemeteries.

A Web site called icasualty.com, which looks at different numbers associated with Iraq coalition casualties, listed the Department of Defense confirmed deaths at 3,456 U.S. deaths in Iraq with 12 deaths pending Defense Department confirmation. One hundred and sixteen of these were based at Fort Lewis with 19 of these happening in May alone as of press time.

At the Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, where Gov. Christine Gregoire delivered a Memorial Day address, 2,400 people showed up to pay their respects.

These were, according to cemetery representative Matt Williams, mostly the older crowd. However, the amount of observers was more than double last year, helped in part by the blue skies, the governor’s presence, and potentially the knowledge of a particularly brutal month for soldiers serving their country in Iraq.

At its original inception, Memorial Day was a day to pay respects to soldiers in the Civil War who had lost their lives. World War I gave more meaning to the day with the red poppy serving to memorialize Flanders Field and the heavy loss of life there. World War II and then Vietnam brought back a need for remembrance and, based on my observations, served up the majority of those observing the solemn day this year.

In my opinion, a new generation needs to step up to the plate and observe the date.

When I was growing up, Memorial Day was a day to eat hot dogs and watch grown-ups drink beer. It was a day that served to mark the unofficial beginning of summer, when white shoes became “legal.” It was a day that marked sales since three-day weekends left the public with nothing to do but shop, in white shoes, before grilling hot dogs.

Only old people, and the young ones they dragged with them, observed the holiday.

And now, after 3,456 lights have been snuffed, we need to recognize that these are our friends, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, sons, daughters, neighbors, community members, future citizens who are gone, and we need to observe the holiday for them.

For the ultimate sacrifices these individuals have made, we need to take a moment to remember.
Because that sort of moment of quiet contemplation is a powerful thing.

Comments on Memorial Consolidation

We'll post these as they arrive...this from James Maynor:

I think the army should take the time. These young people gave their life for this country and we should honor each and everyone an an individual not as group.

You can bet the people making this decision will not be part of a group. I think it is a disgrace that we would even consider doing this. What if these young people had not taken time to serve where would we be?